written by Marko Jakob
Pix666: Hi Alex, thanks for taking the time for a short interview. Your band Then Comes Silence has been around for almost 8 years now and this year your fifth album will be released. Where do you get so many ideas for new songs in such a short time?
Alex: The times we’re living in are more intense than ten years ago. Things you wouldn’t believe a couple of years ago are suddenly normative behavior. For example, we are starting to experience an acceptance for right wing extremism under the radar up here in Sweden. There are leaders with an attitude that allows pretty much anything outside the moral and ethic compass. As long as it’s in their favor. It’s not hard to get ideas. The world is practically throwing dark things at us. We just have to stand there with open mouths and swallow. But, that said we don’t sing political songs in a traditional way. I mean the things happening around us affect my head in many ways. It’s bringing us down from time to time and sometimes it even gives us hope. That’s what’s worth singing about.
Pix 666: What is the difference between ‘Machine’ and the previous albums?
Alex: The sound, the lyrics and the melodies are colder this time. We have two new members, Hugo and Mattias and it’s their debut.
Pix666: What meaning does the album cover with the mask and the strikingly shining eyes have for you?
Alex: I didn’t wanna write new songs in the same way I did with our previous album ‘BLOOD’. To get a new perspective, I had to kind of become someone else. I needed to find another angle. We all put masks on when we feel that we need to. In the family, at work and with strangers. I put the mask on and the band became a machine to get the work done for the new album. That’s why it’s called ‘MACHINE’ with a mask on the cover.
Pix666: The first single ‘We Lose The Night’ from the upcoming album made it to #2 in the German Alternative Charts? Are chart positions important for you – like a kind of confirmation for the good work you do – or is it more of a nice side effect?
Alex: Yes, of course. Now more important than ever. The old school of TV and radio charts where artists like Turbonegro, Pulp, Editors and The Knife could share the same page as Madonna, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Bowie and Beyonce are gone. It’s really hard to get a bigger audience. The “omnivore” listeners don’t get to hear great acts like Whispering Sons or She Past Away… or us. Maybe they don’t share the same enthusiasm and dig around for new music like many of us do, but they get put aside when there’s no public charts and forum with mixed music.
Pix666: This year you will play at the M’era Luna Festival – one of the biggest of its kind in Germany. You have also performed at the Wave Gotik Treffen! Are you rather someone who likes the big festivals because you can reach more people with your music there – or do you prefer the concerts in small clubs where almost exclusively Then Comes Silence fans are present?
Alex: We like both experiences equally. A small and steamy venue is as nice as a big stage with more possibilities.
Pix666: Have you planned an own headliner tour with ‘Machine’ in addition to the already announced concert dates – or is that still a secret?
Alex: There will be more shows on the second half of 2020. After the release we have festivals and a just a couple of shows in Sweden and Denmark before the Summer. Keep your eyes peeled.
Pix666 thanks you for the short interview and wishes you and your band a successful year 2020!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thencomessilence/
On Tour:
11.03.2020 Stockholm
17.04.2020 Aarhus
18.04.2020 Odense
01.05.2020 Copenhagen
25.04.2020 Black Spring Festival 2020
25.06.2020 Subkultfestivalen 2020
08.08.2020 M’era Luna Festival 2020
28.08.2020 Prague Gothic Treffen
29.09.2020 Post Punk Strikes Back Again 4 Porto
23.10.2020 DarkMad 2020
